"The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things: Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings. And why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings."--- Lewis Carroll

Monday, August 09, 2010

Wonkitorial: Lights Out

In yet another sign that our country is in serious trouble, some municipalities are turning-off street lights while others are allowing paved roads to revert to gravel:

The lights are going out all over America — literally. Colorado Springs has made headlines with its desperate attempt to save money by turning off a third of its streetlights, but similar things are either happening or being contemplated across the nation, from Philadelphia to Fresno.

Meanwhile, a country that once amazed the world with its visionary investments in transportation, from the Erie Canal to the Interstate Highway System, is now in the process of unpaving itself: in a number of states, local governments are breaking up roads they can no longer afford to maintain, and returning them to gravel.

And a nation that once prized education — that was among the first to provide basic schooling to all its children — is now cutting back. Teachers are being laid off; programs are being canceled; in Hawaii, the school year itself is being drastically shortened. And all signs point to even more cuts ahead.

We’re told that we have no choice, that basic government functions — essential services that have been provided for generations — are no longer affordable. And it’s true that state and local governments, hit hard by the recession, are cash-strapped. But they wouldn’t be quite as cash-strapped if their politicians were willing to consider at least some tax increases.

I believe that this is just more anecdotal evidence that supports the idea that the nation is on the decline.

Whatever happened to "morning in America?"

And why don't we make things any more???

Just go into any Sears store and see where many Craftsman tools are nowadays being made. I can remember not too long ago when even the TV commercials used to emphasize that they were all made in America.

No longer. Like seemingly everything else, many of those Craftsman tools now sport the all-to-familiar label "Made in China."

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